Back for the fourth time, the biennial IF:Fest will bathe Milton Keynes in a sea of colour from July 15 – the start of a 10-day rush of the wonderful, the cutting-edge, the innovative and sometimes, the absurd!
Outdoor performances, digital installations, site-specific events, stand-up comedy and live music all have their own space at IF:Fest in a programme bursting at the seams.
Pour yourself a cup of tea, or maybe a tall glass of G&T, settle back and scroll through the programme entire.
Make yourself comfortable though...there's plenty to go through!
PERFORMANCE / INSTALLATIONS
New commission
MIGUEL CHEVALIER: MAGIC CARPETS 2016 (Mexico/France)
with RAY LEE: SOUND SPHERES (UK)
Friday 15 to Sunday 24 July: Middleton Hall, centre:mk
Working in a retail environment for the very first time, digital artist Miguel Chevalier is known for creating work for large spaces and monumental buildings. For IF: 2016, Artist-in-Residence Chevalier is creating an extraordinary interactive carpet of light and colour for the expansive space of Middleton Hall at centre:mk shopping centre. With patterns inspired by Milton Keynes’ iconic city-scape, Magic Carpets 2016’s designs and colours swirl and shapeshift. The Festival has also commissioned sonic artist Ray Lee to create a new mobile sound work for Magic Carpets 2016. People walking into the installation are given a spherical ‘sound sphere’ to carry. Each sphere makes a unique sound, changing in reaction to the carpet’s patterns, other nearby spheres and the warmth of the explorer’s hands.
Middleton Hall, centre:mk MK9 3EP
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July, 11am - 6pm (to 5pm on Sundays); late night opening: Thursday 21 July to 8pm
Tickets £3, Under 16s £2, Family of 4 (max 2 adults) £8
UK premiere
RIMINI PROTOKOLL: REMOTE MILTON KEYNES (Germany)
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July: City centre locations including The Hub
Artists Stefan Kaegi and Jörg Karrenbauer from Berlin-based collective Rimini Protokoll collective bring their international phenomenon Remote X to the UK for the first time. Remote Milton Keynes will be a ‘performance audio-walk’ unique to Milton Keynes with a specially commissioned soundtrack and a storyline inspired by the city. Through radio headphones, a voice will direct the group, creating new connections to people and places, as the participants explore and experience the city in an entirely new way. Remote X has taken place in locations including New York, Basel, Moscow and Milan.
Starting point: All Saints Church, Loughton, MK5 8AS finishing in the City Centre
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July at 5pm (weekdays), 12 noon and 4pm (weekends)
Tickets £10, Concessions £8, Family of 4 (max 2 adults) £32
GRAVITY & OTHER MYTHS: A SIMPLE SPACE (AUSTRALIA)
Friday 15 - Sunday 17 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
Australia’s Gravity & Other Myths is a multi-award winning ensemble at the forefront of contemporary circus and acrobatics. Presented in the round in a stripped back space with the audience up close, A Simple Space is an awe-inspiring display of strength, skill and creativity, injected with a healthy dose of humour. Driven by live percussion, seven acrobats push their physical limits in a show that is raw, frantic …and delicate.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park, MK15 0DS
Friday 15 July: 7.15pm, Saturday 16 July: 7pm, Sunday 17 July: 2.30pm
Tickets £20, Under 16s £18.50, Family of 4 (max 2 adults) £74
VOALÀ: STATION (Spain/Argentina)
Friday 15 July: The Mini Bowl at South Willen Lake Park
IF is known for spectacular night-time opening events. This year Voalá’s stunning aerial performance Station starts at dusk and moves into darkness. Up above the heads of the audience, four businessmen are on their way home when they are distracted by mysterious women in party dresses who transform their world into one of poetry, magic, comedy and colour. On the ground below the daring acrobatics, the company’s musicians play and sing live. A flurry of fireworks ends this breathtaking performance.
Mini Bowl, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Friday 15 July, gates open at 9.15pm, performance begins at 10pm
Tickets £6, Under 16s £4, Family of 4 (max 2 adults) £16
Festival commission
ROSEMARY LEE: LIQUID GOLD IS THE AIR (UK)
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July: Queen’s Court, centre:mk
Liquid Gold Is The Air is an award-winning video installation by choreographer Rosemary Lee with film-maker Roswitha Chesher. A triptych of screens show fleeting vignettes and distilled moments from the live outdoor production of Under The Vaulted Sky performed in Milton Keynes’ Cathedral of Trees at IF: 2014 and featuring over 100 performers. Liquid Gold Is The Air will be screened in Queen’s Court, the open air space within centre:mk, in a specially-made garden room with a wild flower roof created by Milton Keynes-based horticulturalists Bridgman & Bridgman.
Queen’s Court, centre:mk, MK9 3EP
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July, 11am - 6pm (to 5pm on Sundays); late night opening: Thursday 21 July to 8pm
Free
New commission
GEORGINA VOSS AND WESLEY GOATLEY: GROUND RESISTANCE (UK/USA)
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July: centre:mk and The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park
Ground Resistance is two installations exploring the concept of the ‘smart city’ and how Milton Keynes appears through the data that it generates. In the city centre, a projected representation of Milton Keynes forms the heart of an immersive sound and visual installation where audiences can watch live data collected from utilities and communications sources. Sounds respond live to the data, creating a sonic experience which changes with every visit. At the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley Park, the artists have installed their own sensors to capture live data from the commercial aircraft whose movements underpin the international capacity of ‘smart cities’.
Unit opposite Door 9 North, Silbury Arcade, centre:mk MK9 3EP
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July, 11am - 6pm (to 5pm on Sundays); late night opening: Thursday 21 July to 8pm
Free
Colussus Gallery, The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park. Use postcode MK3 6DS then follow signs
Friday 15 - Sunday 24 July, 10.30am – 5pm
Usual Museum charges apply
New commission
RICHARD DEDOMENICI: SUPERMAN IV REDUX (UK)
Filming Saturday 16/Sunday 17 July: city centre locations
Screening Saturday 23 July: The Buszy
Improbably, Milton Keynes stood in for New York for the filming of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, starring Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman, in 1986. Now, artist Richard DeDomenici brings The Redux Project, his series ofwitty and disruptive recreations of scenes from popular films, to IF: 2016. Using local people, Richard will reshoot key scenes from Superman IV at their original locations including the flying scenes in front of Milton Keynes Central Station which doubled as the United Nations building. The new footage will be screened alongside the original.
Filming in city centre locations
Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July
Screening + Talk at The Buszy, 401 Elder Gate, MK9 1LR Saturday 23 July, 6pm
Tickets £6, concessions £4
STATION HOUSE OPERA: DOMINOES (UK)
Saturday 16 July: city centre locations
Thousands of white blocks are used to create a two kilometre-long moving sculpture which unfolds across Milton Keynes, responding to its unique city-scape. Through streets, boulevards, shopping centres, parks, residential areas (including homes) and landmark locations, the domino line will weave its way across unusual and everyday parts of the city. Occasionally disappearing then resurfacing and sometimes pausing for sculptural performances, the dominoes counterpoint, complement and play with Milton Keynes’ architecture. Dominoes will involve over 200 local participants who will work with the Station House Opera team in the build-up to the event and on the day.
Starting point: The Point MK9 3NB, finishing in Midsummer Boulevard East by the Theatre District
Saturday 16 July at 5.30pm
Free
COMPAGNIE ARTONIK: THE COLOUR OF TIME (FRANCE)
Sunday 24 July: Campbell Park
The Colour of Time is a large-scale dance-theatre parade inspired by the traditional Indian festival, Holi. Compagnie Artonik and local performers lead the crowds in choreographed dance moves through the streets of Milton Keynes towards a huge finale. Red, pink, green and orange powder is thrown into the air in this rainbow eruption of colour, dance and live music. A closing celebration for both The World Picnic in Campbell Park and IF: 2016, The Colour of Time will involve over 150 members of the public and local dance groups.
Starting point: Campbell Park Plateau, MK9 4AD
Sunday 24 July, 6pm
Free
CABARET
THE GILDED LILI REVUE (UK)
Friday 22 July and Saturday 23 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
Festival favourite and Mistress of Ceremonies Lili la Scala is back with some of her cabaret cohorts to present these adult-only late night shows. This cabaret spectacular offers international comedy, magic, burlesque, music and more.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Friday 22 July, 9.30pm and Saturday 23 July, 10pm
Tickets £16.50
COMEDY
LEE NELSON (UK)
Friday 15 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
Lee Nelson…the man who headlined Glastonbury with Kanye West, bribed Sepp Blatter at FIFA’s headquarters, just missed being part of the England World Cup football squad and almost joined Manchester City FC. Television appearances includeAl Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder and Live at the Apollo.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Friday 15 July, 8.45pm
Tickets £17.50 (maximum 4 tickets per household)
MARK WATSON: I’M NOT HERE (UK)
Sunday 17 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
A seemingly minor problem at an airport is the starting point for Mark Watson’s spiralling examination of identity in the digital age and a search for meaning in our lives. Television appearances include Live At The Apollo, Mock The Week andHave I Got News For You.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Sunday 17 July, 8pm
Tickets £17
CHILDREN AND FAMILY – IF: FAMILY FOCUS
IF: Family Focus is a feast of free family-friendly shows and experiences for children and grown-ups to celebrate the beginning of the summer holidays. This year’s programme includes a series of Superhero Superfun workshops to celebrate Richard DeDomenici’s Superman IV Redux, a series of work from Catalan artists and companies, two works from storytelling theatre company Les Enfant Terribles and three from contemporary circus company Acrojou, including a new commission.
WORKSHOP WITH NEILL CAMERON: MAKE AN AWESOME COMIC
Saturday 16 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park
A masterclass in the comic-making process, with top drawing tips and the chance to create your very own mini-comic. Cartoonist and writer Neill Cameron is creator of the Mo-Bot High graphic novels, and co-producer of dinosaur adventure The Pirates of Pangaea, Mega Robo Bros and Tamsin and the Deep, featured in The Phoenix comic.
Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 16 July, 1pm and 3pm (workshop lasts an hour)
Tickets £3 (includes paper and pencils)
Suitable for ages 6 to 12, Under 8s must be accompanied by an adult
WORKSHOP WITH BOB & BOB JOBBINS: SUPER CREATIVE!
Sunday 17 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park
Kids can create their own superhero mask or puppet to take home in this free drop-in workshop - with painty pens, sticky back plastic and lots of sparkles. Things could get nicely messy!
Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Sunday 17 July, 12 noon - 5pm (drop in any time)
Free
Suitable for ages 4 to 10, must be accompanied by an adult
MIMBRE: IF I COULD I WOULD
Sunday 17 July: South Willen Lake Park
Mimbre uses acrobatics and humour to look at the things we would change if we could. Drawing on popular culture ranging from Mary Poppins, the Hulk and Super Girl, If I Could I Would considers the expectations of modern life – and all the superpowers we would need to get it all done.
Lawn, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Sunday 17 July, 1.45pm and 4.15pm
Free
TOC DE FUSTA: FRIENDS OF CRUSOE (Spain)
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park
Toc de Fusta creates brain-teasing puzzles, games, mechanical constructions and automata on a grand scale crafted from wood. Sad and alone after the shipwreck, Crusoe fortunately had the wreckage with him and all the time in the world to make things... Designed both for the smallest of hands and for grown-ups to relive childhood, Friends of Crusoe is a series of outdoor games for all ages featuring animal-inspired designs.
Lawn, Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park, MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July, 11am - 5pm
Part of IF: 2016 Catalan series
Free
LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES: THE MARVELLOUS IMAGINARY MENAGERIE (UK)
Saturday 23 July and Sunday 24 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Dr Longitude and his strange travelling players tell mesmerising stories of wit, virtue and courageous endeavours. Packed with vaudeville acts, live musicians and puppeteers, this is a wondrous treat for all the family.
Lawn, Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 July: 11.40am and 2.15pm, Sunday 24 July: 11.15am and 1.55pm (show lasts 35 minutes)
Free
LAITRUM TEATRE & TOTI TORONELL: MICRO-SHAKESPEARE (Spain)
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream go micro. Presented in a series of box-theatres and heard through headphones, the Bard’s best is condensed into eight minutes yet remain packed with humour, love, scheming, death and revenge. Micro-Shakespeare was created in association the National Theatre.
Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July, 12 noon to 3pm
Part of IF: 2016 Catalan series
Free
LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES: FANTASTICAL FLYING EXPLORATORY LABORATORY (UK)
Saturday 23 July and Sunday 24 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Dr Latitude and her team of misguided misfits set off on a global quest, discovering incredible and entirely fictitious new lands, tribes, flora and fauna! With stories brought to life using a ‘hot air balloon flying machine’ that soars overhead in spectacular fashion, Les Enfants Terribles create a theatrical spectacle that will leave audiences wondering what’s real and what is not…
Lawn, Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 July: 12.55pm and 4pm, Sunday 24 July: 1pm and 3.45pm (show lasts 35 minutes)
Free
ACROJOU: THE WHEEL HOUSE (UK)
Saturday 23 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park
The Wheel House is a promenade show of theatre and acrobatics which unfolds inside and around an exquisite, hand-built, rolling theatre set, with the audience walking alongside. In this gently comic topsy-turvy world, the travelling acrobats are gathering on the road to nowhere.
Lakeside path, Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July, 11am and 2pm (show lasts 25 minutes)
Free
THEATRE OF WIDDERSHINS: TREASURE CHEST TALES (UK)
Saturday 23 July: Willen Lake Bandstand, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
In Theatre of Widdershins’ storytelling show, beautifully-crafted puppets skilfully bring to life a series of magical stories including The King with the Dirty Feet, The Princess and the Pea, The Fisherman and the Djinni and Stone Soup.
Willen Lake Bandstand, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 July, 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm and 4pm (show lasts 40 minutes)
Free
Festival commission
ACROJOU: ALL AT SEA (UK)
Saturday 23 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park
Co-commissioned by IF: 2016, All at Sea is a poetic theatre installation set in a boat which rows gently through its audience. A lone boatman crosses an ocean of hopes and memories accompanied by his own personal storm - a fully functioning rain-cloud caught on the mast of his boat. The cloud produces a continuous torrent of rain, an evocative soundscape and sound-responsive lightening.
Lakeside path, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 July, 12.15pm and 3.15pm (show lasts 30 minutes)
Free
ACROJOU: FRANTIC (UK)
Saturday 23 July: Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park
Love, freedom, blood, sweat and rain storms, Frantic is an explosive exploration of our relentless devotion to being busy and one man’s thirst for escape, using acrobatics and dramatic dance-theatre within a specially-made moving structure.
Festival Central, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 July, 1.40pm and 3.30pm (show lasts 20 minutes)
Free
WORKSHOP: COMEDY CLUB 4 KIDS
Sunday 24 July: The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park
A super-packed workshop that includes making up a rubbish superhero, improv games, sketches and solo stuff, ending with a mini-showcase for friends and families. Participants get to have a go at writing and performing, learning how to find the funny in a story, express themselves on stage, and feel comfortable and confident in front of an audience.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Sunday 24 July, 11am – 1pm
Suitable for ages 8+, Under 8s must be accompanied by an adult
COMEDY CLUB 4 KIDS
Sunday 24 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
This is a session of non-patronising entertainment from comedians, stand-ups and sketch acts doing what they do best. It’s just like a normal comedy club except it's on in the daytime and kids are allowed in. With Tiernan Douieb as the host and MC, Otiz Cannelloni and CBBC veteran Bec Hill.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Sunday 24 July, 2pm
Tickets £10, Under 16s £9, Family Ticket (max 2 adults) £36.00
Suitable for ages 7+, Under 8s must be accompanied by an adult
EVENTS
HARRY & EDNA’S VINTAGE DAY
Saturday 23 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
A day of events includes The Time Travellers Ball hosted by compere Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq with vocals from The Wild Tonics and Charleston dancing from The Twin Swing. There’s a chance to pop into Sarah Do Wop’s Hair Salon and take a pre-Ball beginners Charleston dance class. Vintage, retro and steam punk dress is encouraged, though not essential.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 23 July, 10.30am - 3pm
10.30am: Sarah Do Wop’s Hair Salon £10 pre-bookable
11.30am - 12.30pm: Charleston Dance Class £5
1pm - 3pm: Time Travellers Ball £10
THE ALWAYS DRINKING MARCHING BAND: THE STREETS ARE OURS (Spain)
Sunday 24 July: South Willen Lake Park and Campbell Park
Trumpets, trombones, a sousaphone and drums combine with a contagious Mediterranean spirit in this joyfully irreverent nine-piece band. Unusual beats and powerful explosive rhythms mix with gags, hilarity, theatrics and audience interaction in this musical promenade performance.
South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS: Sunday 24 July, 12.10pm and 2.45pm
Campbell Park MK9 4AD: Sunday 24 July, 4pm
Part of IF: 2016 Catalan series
IF: 2016 at THE WORLD PICNIC
Sunday 24 July: Campbell Park
This is a glorious community celebration of multicultural music and dance in the green spaces of Campbell Park. Audiences bring their own picnic or sample international food whilst enjoying a wealth of entertainment with friends and family. The Festival is joining the party with The Always Drinking Marching Band from Catalunya and Compagnie Artonik’s Colour of Time.
Campbell Park, MK9 4AD
Sunday 24 July, 1pm – 6pm
Free
MUSIC
UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN (UK)
Saturday 16 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
These world-renowned ukulele superstars reimagine music from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana, David Bowie, Otis Redding and Spaghetti Western – on the ukulele.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Saturday 16 July, 2pm and 8.45pm
Tickets £24
AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM + SUPPORT (UK)
Monday 18 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
Afro Celt Sound System have just marked their 20th anniversary with their first album in 11 years, the well-received The Source. A captivating band with an eclectic and infectious sound celebrate the African, Asian and Celtic roots of musicians N'Faly Kouyaté (vocalist, kora, balafon), Johnny Kalsi (Dhol drums) and Simon Emmerson (guitars, cittern).
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS
Monday 18 July, 7.45pm
Tickets £22.50
CARA DILLON + BAND (IRELAND)
Tuesday 19 July: The Stables Spiegeltent
Possessing a rare and unique voice, Cara Dillon exemplifies the rich cultural heritage of her native County Derry. With her five-piece band and partner Sam Lakeman, she is celebrated for entwining traditional and contemporary elements, earning commercial success, critical acclaim and accolades including Album of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and The Meteor Music Award for Best Irish Female.
The Stables Spiegeltent, South Willen Lake Park MK15 0DS<
